News

The Panama Canal is not only the center of global trade, but it’s also one of the region’s great tourist attractions.

From Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025, the Canal attracted more than 1 million visitors, a 22% increase from the previous fiscal year, according to the just-released data. That also represents a 37% increase from 2023, when Panama was just emerging from the COVID pandemic, La Prensa notes.

Tourism plays a huge role in the economy and the real estate business, and Panama is fortunate to host one of the wonders of the world.

“We received more than one million visits, and that number significantly represents an increase in tourism to the country and in the interest in visiting the Canal,” María Gabriela Ávila, administrator of the Panama Canal Visitor Centers, told the newspaper.

Not surprisingly, international travelers make up the vast majority of visitors to the Canal, although leaders are working to create more links to Panama schools and communities. The Canal is a great educational resource.

“We always try to have that connection with the communities and with the educational centers, but most of the people who come to the visitor centers are foreigners,” Avila noted.

The international visitors spend more, according to the data. “The average consumption of a foreign visitor is between 20 and 22 dollars, while that of nationals ranges between 3 and 5 dollars per person,” Ávila explained.

The Canal is continuing to improve and expand its offerings, including satellite centers around the country. The Miraflores center is going through a renovation to increase capacity and offer new experiences.

Canal leaders are also working to develop a cruise ship pier in the Atlantic sector, which will allow safe disembarkations on Lake Gatun, and is transforming the historic Administrator’s House in Altos de Balboa, which will have a section dedicated to a museum, La Prensa reports.

“We want to transform it into a space for preserving heritage and living memory, with exhibits that tell more than a century of the Canal’s history,” Ávila stated.

These projects have already been approved by the Board of Directors and could be ready by fiscal year 2028.